Process of manufacturing floor slabs and the like of cork and similar materials



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. J. E. JENSEN PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING FLOOR SLABS AND THE LIKE OF coax AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed Sept. 7. 1926 Aug. 30, 1927.

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Patented Aug. 30, 19 27. I

By compression of loose UNITED- STATES osEE EMANUEL JENSEN, or FREDERIKSBERG, NEAR COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.

rEocEss OF MANUFACTURING FLOOR sLAEs AND THE LIKE OF coEK AND SIMILAR 1 MATERIALS.

I Application filed. September 7,, 1926, Serial n. 133,962, and in particles, Such .as granulated cork, sawdustpp'eat-litter and "in consequence of the heat.

the like into the shape of slabs, While heat is applied,'the coherence after cooling may be attained either by admixture of fusible substances, such as asphalt or resin, or by means of the resin exuded from the material The compressionmay be effected either by first heating the materials and then pressing them, and maintaining them in this condition until they have been cooled, or

' with cold materials, the mould being subsequently heated, until the resins contained in the materialhave been brought to the surface "by the heat, or until the admixed adhesi-ves have become fused, whereafter the "mould with the compressed mass contained in the same'is cooled down.

The compression is ordinarily effected by pouring the cork or the like into a mould, \vh'ereafter the cover is pressed down as far i as desired, at which point it is held firmly,

until the coherence of the material has become sulficiently high to allow the moulded slab. to be removed.

Incase the slabs produced are to be used as floor covering or the like, they will re- "quire a very high pressure with corresponding very strong moulds which, owing to the high temperature required by the material,

must be of iron throughout.

As such floor slabs are always thin, 15 to 20mm; at most, and as a rule considerably thinner, the cost of procuring the moulds and manufacturing the slabs according to the heretofore used process will be too large,

in'case only one single thin slab or plate can be pressed at, a time. The slabs are therefore pressed as thick as possible, and after cooling they are cut into thin plates by sawing. Slicing of cork and similar materials, however, is difficult and costly, and plates cut from a thick slab, whenthe conglomerationof the cork is effected in an oven, will be of dull appearance in comparison with the surfaces which during the heating have been in direct contact with the iron plates. Owing to the varying structure and conductivity of the cork particles the last mentioned surface will offer a very handsome play of colors, some of the cork particles becoming more dark than other ones, and such play of colors is highly valuable in the case of floor covering and similar uses.

Great Britain September 16, 1925.

, may be used a high outer mould, Which may be of Wood or other cheap material, and into which there are deposited, alternately, layers of cork and partition plates, which latter may be of iron or some other incombustible and heat-conductive material.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, a mould arranged for the manufacture'of the slabs in the manner referred to, and I Fig. 1 shows a horizontal cross-section of such mould before the compression,

' Fig. 2 a corresponding View of the cork slabs and partition plates clamped together after compression and removed from the mould, and

Fig. 3 an arrangement of the partition plates, in cross-sectional yiew,

Referring to the drawing, 1 is the mould fitted, as shown, with a bottom 2 and a movable cover 3. 5 are the partition plates and 4 the interposed layers of cork. The number of partition plates 5 may be very large, and is limited solely by the working stroke of the press. When the material 4 and the partition plates have been inserted, the entire mould is compressed, and clamps or the like 6, Fig. 2, are applied which merely hold together the bottom 2 and the cover 3, whereafter the outer mould l is removed, and the partition plates clamped together with the interposed cork plates are then introduced into the oven. In order to enable the largest possible number of partition plates tobe inserted in one mould, and in order to have the said partition plates placed at proper relative distances apart and to have them filled in an easy manner, it is better to compress the plates from the side than from the top, in such a manner that the cork plates will be standing vertically in the outer mould. The latter in other words, should lie on its side during the compression, in

such a manner that the members referred to above as bottom and cover will now be disposed vertically. In order to insert the cork, the upper side piece of the mould is removed, and the partition plates 5 are inserted at proper distances apart. l-Vhen the mould has been filled, the side piece is attached, the vertical bottom 2 is held firmly in position, and the similarly vertical cover 3 is pressed into the mould to the proper depth. Atthe same time that the cork is compressed, the loosely standing partition plates will be moved sideways within the mould.

In order to prevent the cork plates standing nearest to the piston from receiving a heavier pressure, and thereby becoming thinner than intended, all the partition plates may be fitted with stopping devices 8, Fig. 3, adapted to keep the said plates at. exactly the same distance from one another when the mould is subjecttd to' pressure. 1

Owing to the high insulating power of the cork, the efi'ect of the oven heat penetrates only a short distance through the bottom and cover into the compressed block. It is therefore of great importance to the conglomeration of the cork in the oven that the partition plates should be made of a highly heat-conducting-material, as all the heat required to cause the cork in the larger part of the plates to exudate resin has to be transmitted through the partition plates from the ,edges of the latter. Similarly, when cork and adhesive agent are heated before being deposited in the mould, it is important that the partition plates should be heat-conductive, the important point being here to have the heat conducted out from the mould as soon as possible after the pressing treatment, in order that the mould may be taken apart.

In order that the plates may become dense, it is of importance that the cork, before being pressed, should be compacted as thoroughly as possible. Owing to the slight weight of the cork, many cavities will be formed when filling in ordinary manner, and if the height of the material is small relatively to its horizontal cross-section in the mould, a shaking will be of no assistance. By adopting the here specified process with vertically disposed partition plates, the conditions are far more favorable for an-eificient compression, as the'height of the layer of. cork is here many times larger than the thickness, and as-by causing the loosely disposed partition plates to vibrate, it will be feasible to cause the cork to be shaken well together and in a direction perpendcular to the direction of the pressure.

If the individual particles of cork have been rendered sticky by the admixture of an adhesive or impregnating medium, the disinclination of the material to settle down will be still more pronounced, and an eflicient shaking will therefore be still more important in order to attain dense plates.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1.- A process of making thin slabs or plates of granular fibrous material, comprising the steps of loosely arranging heatconducting partitions vertically and in spaced relation in a mould; filling the spaces between the partitions with the material to be moulded; subjecting the mould to a single compression to force said partitions to move laterally toward one another therein and thereby compress the material bttween them; clamping, the partitions and the interposed slabs or plates thus formed in compressed relation to produce a single unit; withdrawing such unit from the mold; and then subjecting it to baking heat.

2. A process of making thin slabs or plates of granular fibrous material, comprising the steps of loosely arranging heatcoiiducting partitions vertically and in spaced relation in a mould; filling the spaces between the partitionswith the material to be moulded; subjecting the mould to a single compression to force said partitions to move laterally toward one. another therein and thereby compress the material between them, while limiting the extent of sueh'movement; clamping the partitions and the interposed slabs or plates thus formed in compressed relation to produce a single unit; withdrawing such unit from the mould; and heating the unit in an oven.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

J OSEF EMANUEL JENSEN. 

